Turned to Steel
by fadingtales
Summary: An Iron Man/Vampire Diaries Genderswap AU Fic featuring Caroline Fobres as Tonya Stark and Stefan Salvatore as Virgil "Pepper" Potts. Accompanied by Bonnie Bennett as Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, and Isobel Fleming as Obelia Stane. Manips available on fadingtales@tumblr
1. Chapter 1 The Girl in the Papers

**Title: **Turned to Steel  
**Author: **fadingtales  
**Fandom: **Iron Man & Vampire Diaries**  
Ship: **Caroline/Stefan as Tonya Stark/Virgil "Pepper" Potts  
**Rating: **T  
**Summary: **An Iron Man/Vampire Diaries Genderswap AU Fic featuring Caroline Fobres as Tonya Stark and Stefan Salvatore as Virgil "Pepper" Potts. Accompanied by Bonnie Bennett as Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, and Isobel Fleming as Obelia Stane.

**A/N: **Thank you to snarkystarky for beta-ing this for me!

**PART ONE - The Girl in the Papers  
**

She was used to seeing herself in the papers. Most often in the tabloids with her latest boy toy, detailing her latest drunken escapade. That is, in between the newsreels detailing the latest innovative Stark invention, followed by photos of her face plastered across WIRE and FORBES magazines, hailing her the "Da Vinci of our time". It seemed like the media were never quite sure whether they could pin her as merely a bored, reckless heiress or just an eccentric genius.

She recalled reading a human interest piece on her once. One line had read, "Antoinette Stark, fondly called Tonya by those close to her, is the product of vast wealth and misfortune." The article went on to describe how the loss of her mother, the great Holly Stark, and her father had led to depression and anxiety which catalyzed into a type of "elevated teenage rebellion", with her wild behavior enabled by the great fortune at her disposal. The author stated that it was "typical of the orphan heirs of great estates, burdened by society's expectations and their family's legacies, to act out." As if Tonya was _typical_.

She had laughed and told Pepper, her enduring assistant of four years, to call the journalist and arrange a meeting. The guy turned out to be a complete bore and kept psychoanalyzing her the entire evening. She slept with him anyways. The next day she bought the newspaper company he worked at and had him fired. When he screamed at her as she handed him the pink slip she merely smiled and said she was just "acting out".

Pepper had shaken his head at her in disapproval once security escorted him out of the building, she merely shrugged.

"I'm doing him a favor. The company was failing. He was going to get fired anyways. He'll be getting a quite generous severance package from Stark Industries. More than he would've gotten had I not bought them out."

"I know," Pepper had responded. "I'm just curious why you're pretending it's a personal vendetta. This acquisition has been in the making for months. We had the contracts signed nearly two weeks before you met with him."

Pepper had on a knowing look which annoyed her. Four years ago he had walked through her office door, fresh out of Harvard Business School. But even then as a fresh graduate, barely in his twenties, there was always a cool, level of calm to Pepper.

She had told everyone that she didn't need an assistant, that she could handle it. She was a genius, after all. Humility had never been her strong suit. And then she saw him and _wow_.

The name on his resume had read: Virgil Potts, but with a face and body that put Calvin Klein underwear models to shame – and Tonya had her fair share of underwear models – she had dubbed him Pepper. Because he was just _that_hot. Actually, she had originally wanted to call him Jalapeno, but he had adamantly objected so she eventually gave in to the slightly less embarrassing moniker.

When she agreed to hire him, she didn't think he'd last. He had been with her now for four years and counting, and she was quite sure she wouldn't be able to tie her shoes without him. He was as essential to her as her right hand, and, considering she was right handed, she desperately needed that hand.

"You don't have to pretend with me, you know," he had said when Tonya refused to answer his question about the journalist.

Even back then she knew he was speaking the truth. For a girl who inherited a multi-billion dollar company at the tender age of seventeen, she had very few people she could trust – three to be precise. And he was one of them.

He had stood by her through all of her antics, stubbornness, recklessness, and never once batted an eye at her ridiculous behavior. He had seen through her Paris Hilton façade and had stayed on despite the numerous times she has purposefully pushed him away. Later, he would be one of the few that trusted her to return when the military Humvee she was in was ambushed and she was taken hostage, thought for dead.

Lieutenant Colonel Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, Tonya's steadfast, straight-laced, and – most of all – loyal best friend, had led the rescue team that brought her back from the brink of death on that strip of desert hell, but it was Pepper who waited. Pepper, who could have easily found another job, a _better_ job, because God knows that Tonya was by far not the number one boss in the world, and who could have easily been CEO of his own Fortune 500 by now… had _stayed_.

He stayed and fought off the press, legal teams, and anxious shareholders that wanted to take her company. And he was one of the first faces she saw, waiting for her at the helicopter hangar along, eyes rimmed red and arms opened, when she finally did return. For that, she was eternally grateful.

Aside from Pepper and Rhodey there was Obelia Stane, her mother's closest friend and her guardian. At least until her twenty-first birthday, anyway, which was rapidly approaching.

Her upcoming birth anniversary would mark a major transition for Stark Industries. She would be no longer under Obelia's careful guidance and the company's reins would finally fall completely into her possession. The thought was more than daunting.

Tonya was used to doing whatever the hell she wanted. So used to playing the role of a careless party girl that she could no longer tell whether or not she was even acting anymore. Or perhaps somehow in trying to make everyone discredit her to lessen the burden of the Stark name, she had begun to discredit herself. Nonetheless, she didn't look too forward to her big Two-Oh.

Despite what Pepper may have thought, a part of her _had _been vindictive when she fired the journalist. She had not wanted to admit that, as pseudo-intellectual as he was, the man had hit a little too close to home in his little exposé. She didn't like to think strangers could have her pegged so easily. As if she was just some normal girl falling into the teen stereotype. She was _not _a normal girl. Normal girls didn't go to MIT at the age of fifteen, graduate at the top of their class, and they don't have to run billion dollar companies. Their names weren't Tonya Stark.

And they also didn't moonlight as superheroes.

Snapping out of her reverie, Tonya glanced up at the wide-screen projection to her left that was broadcasting the latest news segment on the mysterious "Iron Woman", an armored vigilante that has recently been intervening on U.S. missions against war criminals and terrorists despite the chagrin of the U.S. military.

Barely twenty four hours after her return she had begun to receive weekly untraceable emails with encrypted images, data, and mission briefs from some anonymous entity. Amongst the confidential material were photos that suggested Stark Industries had been double dealing weapons with some very unsavory individuals, a suspicion that Tonya had ever since she had come back from the Middle East.

At first she'd been skeptical, thinking it was an elaborate hoax, but when she looked into the details of the files she had been sent, they all checked out. She initially suspected that it was Rhodey who was sending her the files, but after dropping some subtle hints, it seemed like the Lieutenant Colonel had no idea what she was talking about. Either that or Rhodey was playing this one extremely close to the chest.

Nonetheless, _somebody _was privy to the goings-on of her company – of the entire _country_ it seemed and perhaps even the _world_– even better than any organized first world nation's government did. And whoever that person, or persons, was, they were quite capable of getting into the nooks and crannies of Tonya's high security confidential database. A feat which had Tonya highly impressed.

Despite her efforts, nothing Tonya had done had been able to unmask the sender's identity, and the mystery consumed her even as she took on the missions she received. For now, she'd play their little game – at least until she could figure out her next move. It was as good a pastime as any, and she liked thinking the missions she was doing would somehow counteract the little bits of evil she'd enabled in the world with Stark technology. She knew that in the long run nothing she do would completely relieve her of the debt she owed to the world for contributing to so much of its misery, but every little bit counted. At least she hoped so.

Turning her attention back to the television projection, she caught the mention of her favorite Lieutenant Colonel.

"While Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Rhodes refused to comment on the Iron Woman incidents, we have Christian Everhart reporting with the opinions of several other ranking officers on this bizarre figure," the news anchor proclaimed.

The image on the screen switched over to that of an attractive blonde, accompanied by a military officer.

"What do you think of these people calling Iron Woman a hero?" the reporter asked.

"I think it's ridiculous. And completely foolish. Iron Woman is _not_a hero. What this individual is doing is not only in direct violations of the U.S. foreign policy, but also endangering-"

"Mute."

The interview was unceremoniously cut off, and Tonya whipped around to see Pepper coming down the stairwell into her workshop.

"Hey, I was watching that! They were about to get to the good part where they call Iron Woman a lunatic with deranged heroic delusions and violent tendencies."

Pepper ignored her protests.

"I've been trying to reach you all day. Why haven't you answered any my calls?"

"I was busy," she quipped, turning her attention back to her worktable. It was currently scattered with various mechanical parts and pieces that were beyond Pepper's average human comprehension. Well, to be honest calling Pepper "average" would be an overestimation of a majority of the general population's intelligence, considering that the man graduated summa cum laude from Harvard. But still, his familiarity of the workings of quantum mechanics and the like paled in comparison to Tonya's natural talent.

He sighed and walked over to her. His arms were laden with various forms of paperwork, a pen tucked behind one ear.

"Well, I'm going to need your signature on these military contracts."

"I already told you. We're done with the military. I'm not signing any more contracts with them."

"You're not serious, Tonya."

She put down the wires she was tinkering with and glanced up at him.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack."

She tapped the arc reactor in her chest, slightly illuminating through her white t-shirt, for emphasis. Pepper did not look amused. He looked pained, if anything, and she noticed he was careful not to stare at her chest. If she didn't know about his aversion to the topic of her condition, she might have felt offended. She was vain enough to know that she was pretty, maybe even beautiful if she put in the effort, but the truth was that Pepper's strange behavior had nothing to do with her vanity. He was still coming to terms with the changes after her homecoming.

It had been less than a month since they found her barely alive in the middle of the Syrian Desert. She still had nightmares about her time in the cave, about Yinsen, her co-hostage and her savior. She could still hear the echoes of screams and explosions when she closed her eyes. Blood was on her hands. She was the one that contributed to all of this pain and suffering. She had to make amends, and she had to start now.

"This isn't a joking matter. Do you know how chaotic it's been since your little stunt at the press conference? I'm still dealing with the fallout."

"Well that's what I have you for. To deal with that stuff," she said, going back to her tinkering. "Besides isn't all this 'Iron Woman' business taking the heat off of Stark Industries?"

"Hardly," Pepper drawled. "If anything I think it just further pressures the military, who, in turn, is pressuring _us_. Besides, I'm sure this Iron Woman is giving Rhodey a real hard time."

"So you think she's what they say? A deranged lunatic?"

"I didn't say that."

"What do you mean then?"

"Can we just get back to business please?"

Tonya turned away from him, already preoccupied with the illuminating graphs and data suspended in the air as projected by J.A.R.V.I.S., the house's resident A.I. and internal systems manager.

"I told you. I'm done talking about anything to do with weapons or the military."

Pepper pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose and exhaled.

"Okay, well, can you please just at least take a look at your schedule for tomorrow?"

"Sure, sure thing. But first I need your help with a little something."

She didn't wait to hear him say yes before she walked over to the reclining chair in the center of her work room and proceeded to take off her shirt.

"What are you doing?"

There was a hint of panic in Pepper's voice that amused her. When she turned to look at him, she noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink.

"Are you blushing, Mr. Potts?" she teased. "Don't worry. I have a tank top underneath."

And indeed she did, though there was a hole cut out at the center where the arc reactor poked through. She settled herself into the chair and began to attach various wires to herself.

"Come over here," she called to him from her reclining position. "Let me see your hands."

He gave her a puzzled look, but he was used to her bizarre commands and obediently raised his hands up for her inspection.

"Yes, good. Very steady looking hands. You could've been a surgeon you know. Or maybe a pianist."

"I hate blood."

"Really? Wouldn't have pegged you for someone who'd get queasy at the sight of a bit of blood."

"I don't get queasy. I just don't like it."

"Pianist then."

"I prefer the violin."

"Really? You play? How did I not know that? J.A.R.V.I.S., remind me to read those files on Pepper more thoroughly."

"Tonya, is there a point to this?" Pepper sighed, impatience lacing his tone.

"Oh yes. I'm going to need you…" She reached for the arc reactor in her chest with on hand, twisting it like she would twist a cap to a jar until it came loose and continued, "to help me change this thing out."

With a swift gesture she yanked out the reactor, leaving a gaping hole in her chest. Pepper cautiously took the old reactor from her as Dummy handed her the new one.

"And replace it with this baby."

She held up the new reactor with pride. Newly upgraded, shiny, and beautiful.

"Well, what do I need to do?" Pepper asked.

"I need you to reach inside and grab that little copper wire at the bottom and bring it out without touching the sides. Like a game of Operation," she said cheerily.

"Is this safe?"

"Of course it is!" She was a tad too enthusiastic to be convincing. "Just remember, don't let it touch the sides."

Pepper gave her an exasperated look, but he brought his hand up and poised it above the hole in Tonya's chest. Just before he was about to reach in he stopped and shook his head.

"No, I can't. A doctor or something should do this. I'm not qualified," he said, a furrow creasing his brows.

"Sure, you are. You're the most capable person I know. You can do anything, Pepper."

Pepper, in return, gave her a pointed look.

"Please," she urged. "I don't have anyone else. I… I only have you."

The hard lines on Pepper's usually stern expression softened and he brought his hand over her chest once more.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered under his breath as he reached in, feeling for the copper wire. She could tell by the grimace on his face that he was in deep enough to touch the inorganic plasmic discharge.

"It's okay. You're doing great. After you pull out the wire and then you're going to attach it to that stick thingy part on the new reactor."

"The stick thingy part," Pepper repeated. "I thought you were supposed to be a genius."

Tonya stuck her tongue out at him.

Pepper's teasing subsided, and once more he took on a look of concentration. He was careful and precise in following her instructions, and before long Tonya had a new reactor in place of the old.

"There. Wasn't so hard was it?"

Pepper ran a hand through his hair, brushing the strands back away from his face. Tonya took a moment to appreciate the sight of him with his tie loosened and a smudge of oil smearing his right cheek.

"What do you want me to do with this?" he asked her, gesturing at the old arc reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it," she answered nonchalantly.

"You don't want to keep it?"

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Pepper, I've been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them."

Pepper looked like he was going to retort to that, but at the last moment changed his mind and turned away, taking the old reactor with him.

"Hey, Pepper?" Tonya called after him.

He turned enough to look at her over his shoulder.

"Thank you."

He inclined his head slightly, a smile gracing his lips.

"You're welcome, Miss Stark."

She watched as his figure mounted the steps and disappeared out of view.

"Tonya, your heart rate is increasing. Perhaps there is a bug in the new reactor. Do you want me to run a mechanical diagnostic?" the electronic voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. inquired.

"No need, J.A.R.V.I.S. It's not a mechanical problem," she replied and turned back to the task of putting together what looked to be a robotic arm.

xxx

Days in the workshop consumed her. After her last military mission interception, she had found several new bugs in the suit to work out. She had almost gotten blown to kingdom come when the air force targeted her as a hostile bogey upon her returning to U.S. airways. It was only by confessing to Rhodey that she was the one in the suit that the Lieutenant Colonel managed to pull some strings and somehow convince air control to not shoot her down. The incident still resulted in one demolished jet and a very shaken up flying officer who had to eject before the plane went up in flames. Rhodey kept a close lid on the entire thing and after much convincing promised to not speak of Tonya's after school activities to Obelia or Pepper. But she didn't agree do so happily. Needless to say, Tonya owed Rhodey a mighty big Christmas present this year.

In retrospect, holing up in her workshop and only venturing out either to test drive new suit upgrades or to intervene on missions while Stark Industries continued to be pummeled by the press was not such a great idea. It also didn't help that she'd been dodging all of Obelia's phone calls.

She shouldn't have been surprised when her surrogate mother showed up in her living room.

"Obelia, what are you doing here?" she said, as she plastered on a smile for the elder woman's benefit.

"You've been ignoring my phone calls, Tonya."

"I was not. I had Pepper relay all of my messages back to you."

Obelia turned to Pepper, and the two shared knowing looks.

"Look, as much as I love Pepper, I wanted to talk to _you_."

"Well, I'm here," Tonya said, her forced smile widened for effect.

The last thing she needed was Obelia getting on her case about the whole Iron Woman business as well as Stark Industry business.

"Uh oh. Is that pizza?" She inquired after noticing the boxes on her coffee table. "This must be serious."

"Why haven't you signed the military contracts, Tonya?"

"I already told you and Pepper a million times." Even without looking, Tonya could tell that Pepper had stiffened at the question. "I'm not signing anymore military contracts. I was serious during that press conference. I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries, for good."

Just as Tonya was reaching for a slice of pizza, Obelia crossed the room in three quick strides and slammed shut the box. Tonya was lucky to have saved her fingers.

"You want to shut down the weapons manufacturing division of a _weapons manufacturing company_?" Obelia added unnecessary emphasis on the last part of her sentence, making Tonya cringe. "I've been humoring you for the past week as our stocks plummeted and the shareholders clamored for your head on a platter!"

Taking her by the shoulders, Obelia shook her.

"We are iron mongers, Tonya. We make _weapons_."

"Well, we can start making something else."

"Like what? Baby bottles?"

Silence followed, and slowly Obelia's gaze fell to the glowing light in the middle of Tonya's chest. She had been in the workshop the entire day, not bothering to put on more than a simple tank top, so the reactor shone brightly through the thin cloth.

"Tell me about the arc reactor technology," Obelia demanded.

"It's not ready yet," Tonya replied. She didn't know why, but she felt oddly protective over the tech that she and Yinsen cultivated during those long, endless days in the cave.

"Pepper and I are flying out to New York this Saturday for the annual Fireman's Ball. Just give me a little something to feed to the press, Tonya." Tonya's lack of a response caused Obelia to press harder. "Just some preliminary specs to fend off the sharks. That's all I'm asking of you."

It was with reluctance that Tonya inclined her head in a small nod. Her compliance was rewarded with a bright grin from Obelia. The older woman raised her hand up towards Tonya's face to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. It was an extremely maternal gesture, and for a moment Tonya felt a pang of guilt for putting Obelia in the line of fire with the shareholders and the press.

"It's almost your birthday, you know."

Again Tonya nodded.

"Now is not the time to rebel, Tonya. We want the board to be confident in you taking over the company. It's hard enough being a woman in this industry; it's going to be even harder for you to show them that you're not just a kid genius. That you can be a leader as well."

Obelia pulled her into a hug. The perfume of the older woman stung Tonya's nose and made her want to sneeze.

"I expect the data on the reactor on my desk tomorrow morning."

And with that Obelia released her, turned on her Louboutin heels, and disappeared through the front door.

In hindsight, Tonya should have realized then that something felt wrong when a hug from Obelia felt more suffocating than it did comforting. But she didn't. And so she merely went back into her workshop and let all feelings of doubt get pushed to the back of her brain while she focused on soldering metal.

xxx

Saturday rolled around sooner than she expected, and Tonya found herself bored, twirling around on her chair in an empty house. She had finished upgrading the suit and was tired of tuning up cars.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., turn on the TV."

Obediently, a screen was projected against the white wall.

"The Fireman's Ball is now underway. Spotted is Obelia Stane of Stark Industries, but nowhere in sight is young genius billionaire, Tonya Stark," the reporter announced.

Her name caught Tonya's attention, and she stopped mid-spin on her chair to watch the procession of New York dignitaries and other very important people down the red carpet while the news anchor narrated.

"Miss Stark has just recently come back from a trialing hostage situation and was found by military troops in the middle of the Syrian Desert. Since then the young billionaire spearhead of Stark Industries has made the startling announcement that her company will no longer be manufacturing weapons, and all Stark contracts with the military has since been frozen. Stark stocks have been plummeting ever since, and the company representatives have yet to comment further on the future of the company. Allegedly suffering from post-traumatic stress, Tonya has scarcely been seen in public."

Images of the party flashed across the screen, interlaced with images of herself and a short clip of her press conference, while a voiceover continued to make commentary.

"With shareholders' discontentment apparent and Tonya's own twenty-first birthday, the date of which marks her transition as the company's CEO, looming just around the corner, what holds for Stark Industries' future seems uncertain," the anchor concludes. "One thing seems for sure; I doubt we'll be seeing Tonya Stark anywhere near the Fireman's Ball tonight."

With the words of the reporter echoing in her head, Tonya took the prediction as a challenge.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., don't you think we should do a bit of test driving for our little project? Say... to New York?"

"Miss, I think it might be a bit premature to-"

"It's called trial and error," she drawled. "We won't know if it works if we don't try it out."

The A.I. paused as if in reluctance before responding with, "As you wish, miss."

Tonya's lips curled up in a cat-ate-the-canary fashion.


	2. Chapter 2 The Girl in the Armor

**Title: **Turned to Steel  
**Author: **fadingtales  
**Fandom: **Iron Man & Vampire Diaries**  
Ship: **Caroline/Stefan as Tonya Stark/Virgil "Pepper" Potts  
**Rating: **T  
**Summary: **An Iron Man/Vampire Diaries Genderswap AU Fic featuring Caroline Fobres as Tonya Stark and Stefan Salvatore as Virgil "Pepper" Potts. Accompanied by Bonnie Bennett as Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, and Isobel Fleming as Obelia Stane.

**A/N: **As you may have already noticed, I'm taking bits of the Iron Man movie and bits of TVD and trying to incorporate both. SO tehre will be some quotes that you recognize, although the setting and context may be different. I'm just trying to give this crossover genderbender AU a fresh spin. I hope you enjoy! And** o**nce again, thank you to snarkystarky for beta-ing this for me!

**PART TWO – The Girl in the Armor**

The party is in full swing. Chattering and noisy buzzing filled the room, flashes of cameras every which way as reporters and cameramen vie for celebrities' attentions.

The clamor raised an octave when she enters the room. Reporters tripped over themselves to get a comment, but she just smiled and gave the excuse of "cabin fever" to all who asked what she was doing here.

She barely makes it five feet pass the barricade of flashing cameras and into the sanctuary of the ballroom when she hears someone calling her name.

"Tonya!"

She turned and saw Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes approaching her in all of her uniformed glory.

"Well, don't you look distinguished, platypus? By the way, Paul Dean called. She wants the ribbons for her pies back. My god, how many of these little things have they given you?" Tonya teased as she playfully fiddled with the ribbons on the Lieutenant Colonel's lapel.

Rhodey slapped her hand away.

"I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Wouldn't want to miss a party," Tonya grinned.

"Does Obelia and Pepper know you're here?"

As if right on cue, Tonya looked to her left and saw Pepper in a handsome black tuxedo chatting away happily with several other distinguished figures in the distance.

"No, but I see Pepper over so I really should head on over to say hello."

Without waiting for Rhodey's response she made her way through the throngs of people to Pepper's side.

"Excuse me. I'd like to borrow my assistant for a moment if you please."

Pepper whirled around, his previously easy smile replaced with a look of genuine surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that. Whatever happened to just 'hello'?" Tonya rolled her eyes. "Thought I'd help boost morale for the company by showing up."

"I really wished you told me beforehand," Pepper sighed resignedly.

"What fun would be in that?" Tonya cheekily replied. Another beat later she said, "Do you want to dance?"

"No, no. I don't dance."

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Potts."

Pepper began to protest more, but Tonya had already grabbed his hand and was leading him towards the dance floor. Eyes gravitated towards them and other dancers parted as they made their way to the center. She could feel Pepper's apprehension in the way he held her hand rigidly, his shoulders tense.

With a smirk, Tonya placed Pepper's hand on her waist and held the other in her right.

"You look angry. Well, actually you _look_very dashing. Very handsome. That's a very sharp tuxedo. I like it. What is that? Hugo Boss? Armani?"

"Men's Wearhouse, actually."

"Men's Wearhouse?" she said and quirked her eyebrow at him.

"Ok, I am pretty I am paying you much better than _that_. But if this is a clever way to talk me into a raise-"

"It's old. I was strapped for time and didn't have time to shop. I've been preoccupied with a certain troublemaking boss of mine."

The corner of her lip quirked into a half smile. "She should do something to make it up to you. Get you something pretty."

"Or maybe she can just take it easy on me and stop causing trouble everywhere she goes."

"It's a wonder why you stay with her."

She said it with a lighthearted tone, but there was a brief flicker of fear, of panic that passed through her. That perhaps by saying that she had granted him an opening, an invitation to leave.

"She needs me," he replied simply.

But of course he's Pepper and if anything he's loyal. Maybe even to a fault. He'd stay because she needed him. And somehow coming to that realization caused a terrible clenching in her chest. Loyalty and duty were not the reasons why she wanted him to stay.

"And... maybe I need her too," he said in a low voice, barely above a whisper.

She blinked at him, too startled to mask the surprise. He met her wide eyes with a steady gaze, as if daring her to contradict him. Her pulse quickened and she thanked god for the arc reactor to keep her heartbeat steady.

"It would be hard to find a good job in this economy," he joked, small smile on his lips.

She let out a laugh and the mood lightened once more.

"You look beautiful as always," Pepper complimented. "I don't even notice the reactor at all in that dress. How did you manage it?"

"Oh, a girl should never reveal her secrets," Tonya replied.

She gets a full on grin with that.

Pepper turned her once, in rhythm to the music and she felt like the air was been knocked out of her, she was so breathless. She may be the one that forced him to the dance floor, but he's the one that took the lead. And for all of his protests about not knowing how to dance, he is as graceful on the dance floor as he is with everything else he does.

"Are you alright? You look a bit flushed," he asked, his voice tinged with concern.

As if perfectly timed, the music ends there and Pepper regains his stern expression once more.

"Come on. We should go get you some air."

It's his turn to take her hand this time and he ushered her out towards the balcony, away from prying eyes.

xxx

Once the cold night air has hit her face, she finds herself regaining her composure.

"Well, that was fun," she beamed at him.

"_That_is never going to happen again," he answered, dead-panned.

Her face falls. "You didn't like dancing with me?"

"It was highly inappropriate."

"What? What was so inappropriate about it?"

"You're my _boss_, Tonya. And everybody knows how you are."

"How I am? What is _that _supposed to mean?" she said, arms crossing over her chest.

"You _know _what I mean," Pepper sighed, too used to her petulance to be put off by her pouts.

"No, Pepper," she answered in her best bitchy tone. "I _don't_know what you mean."

Just because he was used to it, didn't mean she wasn't going to let him off easy.

"I mean you and your string of boys. You're never really serious about any-"

"I can, too, be serious!" She protested.

"Maybe about quantum physics and jet propulsion, but..." he trailed off. He stared at her for a moment before letting out another heavy sigh. "You are my boss," he repeated.

She heard him the first time so she wonders if he's repeating for his own benefit.

"I could fire you if that will make you feel better," she offered.

He laughed and shook his head. When he looked back up at her, there was amusement in his eyes.

"I don't think you can tie your shoelaces without me."

"I'll learn to wear ones with the straps then. The Velcro ones."

"Velcro, really?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, Velcro. The Reeboks with the straps," she answered. "To be precise."

His amused expression intensified.

"Did you just reference a Flo Rida song?"

"Shut up."

He grinned at her. They were back to their usual bantering, the tension in the air momentarily dissipated. He kept smiling at her in silence and once again she felt flush under his scrutiny. This was the moment. This was the opening she needed.

She had had a lot of time to think when she was held captive in that cave with Yinsen, back when she wasn't sure if she was going to make it out of there alive. And often times, she had found herself thinking of Pepper, most importantly, about her _feelings_towards Pepper. But with the maelstrom of reporters, disgruntled shareholders, anxious employees, and a hovering Obelia Stane around them, she had not found the proper moment to speak with him privately. At least not about things that weren't about Stark Industries.

"Pepper... maybe I might have not been serious about the others, but maybe-"

Suddenly a loud gunshot, ringing like thunder above the noise of the party, tears through her moment so much like tissue paper.

They both quickly turned towards the direction of the noise. From their view on the balcony they witnessed pandemonium forming below near the front gates of the building.

"What's going on down there?" Pepper's expression is serious as he surveys the crowd below.

Tonya follows his gaze and despite all the confusion in the crowd, she'd recognize that face anywhere.

It was the leader of the Three Rings. The face that still haunted her dreams of the cave and the torture. It was the face of Yinsen's murderer.

"Stay here, I'm going to figure out what's going on."

Before Pepper can respond, Tonya already took off.

She weaved through the party with barely concealed urgency. The people in the ballroom had yet to become aware of all the chaos just on the other side of the doors and she had to make haste before panic caused a pandemonium. She rushed towards the direction of the ladies room. But as ladies rooms are wont to be, the line is seemed endless.

Tonya growled with exasperation. She couldn't change into the Iron Woman armor with all of these people about. Thinking on her feet, Tonya charged towards the front of line.

"I'm sorry, ladies. Just found out that this restroom is having some plumbing issues. _Very_nasty. And will be out of commission for the rest of the evening. If you could all head towards the east wing down the hall to your left there will be other facilities there for you to use. Very sorry about the inconvenience."

There's a wave of disgruntled murmurs and more than a few grimaces, but slowly the ladies turned towards the direction of the east wing. Once the last of the ladies trickled away, Tonya breathed a huge sigh of relief and rushed inside the now vacated restroom.

The lie had served two purposes: one) to clear the room so that she would be able to change into the Iron Woman suit and, two) to evacuate all the women to the wing farthest away from the commotion without causing panic and therefore minimizing the evening's casualties.

She made quick work of her dress and stuffed it into an inconspicuous corner. Then, with subtle trepidation, she retrieved the robotic arm she had been painstakingly working on from her purse.

"Alright... time to put this baby to the test."

Attaching it to her forearm she watched as the gears whirled to life. Metal plates, like scales, quickly unfolded themselves in rapid succession, covering her bare skin in armor. Her vision is obscured for a brief second when the faceplates of the helmet cover her face. And then... the lights turn on. It was like the Vegas Strip inside the helmet. Digital data, stats, and analysis right there in front of her, analyzing everything from the distance from the sink to the door to the number of tiles on the floor.

"Hello, miss. I see you're trying on a different type of attire for tonight's event. As requested, I've added the 'hot rod red' to the finishing of the armor. How is it to your liking?" J.A.R.V.I.S.'s familiar automated voice inquired through the earpiece.

She looked down at her hands, flexed it, and upon looking up caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. She's clad in glossy red and gold, the eyes of the helmet luminescent.

"Oh yeah. This will do."

She looked freaking _awesome_.

xxx

The moment she stepped out of the restroom a scream filled the air. That moment of peace before all hell broke loose is gone and chaos takes over. She makes a mad dash in the direction of the ballroom and sure enough the party is in complete turmoil. People rushed about trying to find the exit only to find the doors have been barricaded from the other side. They were locked in. Panic and hysteria was about to overcome the anxious occupants and she had to think fast of what to do to avoid further casualties.

"Hey!" she shouted above the roar of the frantic cries and screams.

The helmet had amplified her voice ten-fold and the room goes instantly silent as everyone took in the sight of Iron Woman standing in their midst.

"Duck," she commanded.

And everyone quickly knelt down and covered their heads. As soon as she saw the chance she shot a beam towards one of the door, blowing it wide open. Once the dust settled people quickly made their way through the opening.

Before she could shout to tell them to head east, away from the direction of the party crashers, Pepper beats her to punch. He and Rhodey had already begun organizing people and directing the party guests to the safest emergency exits. She smiled at their efficiency.

For a moment her eyes met Pepper's. Despite the suit of armor, she felt so very naked under his scrutiny. As if he _knew_.

They are both soon distracted, however, when machine guns started firing. Screams once again rang through the air, tangling with the sounds of gunshots and cries of agony.

Guns she could deal with. Even if they are her own. What she _didn't _expect was the ghost of the Mark I suit to haunt her.

Before her stood a massive iron giant. The design was nearly identical to her original, except for one crucial detail: the arc reactor.

Tonya smirked from the inside of her suit. The looks were impressive enough, but it's still nothing but a cheap knock-off.

"Come on, you big oaf. Show me what you got," she taunted.

The leader smirked and Tonya noticed a new scar running down from his ear to the left corner of his mouth, probably from the last time they met. He glanced up at the iron monstrosity and pointed at her.

"Destroy her."

Tonya spread her legs apart and raised her hands up in a fighting stance. The giant rushed towards her, its size impeding its speed, and she easily ducks the blow it dealt. The giant's fist that missed her slammed into one of the building's columns instead and the concrete almost seems to shatter upon impact. The building quakes, its foundation compromised. Tonya glances quickly in Pepper and Rhodey's direction, hoping that they'd be able to make it out before the roof collapses over their heads. She spotted them with Obelia who looked distraught and the three of them were quickly making their own way towards the exit. The brief distraction is enough of an opening for her opponent to surprise her with a blow to the head which sent her tumbling through the air and careening into the wall.

Beeps and flashing lights filled her helmet as the J.A.R.V.I.S. reported on the damage done to the suit. She doesn't hear a thing and instead tried to focus on how to keep her eyes from swimming. She doesn't have long to rest, however, when the iron giant is hurdling at her again.

She only barely dodges this time, sending a repulser beam towards the hulking mass of metal at the very last moment and enabling her to scamper away.

The clomping beast destroys everything in its path in chasing her.

"Miss, a speedier evacuation is required of all persons within the vicinity. I'm afraid at this rate the foundation will be compromised," J.A.R.V.I.S. voiced inside the helmet.

"Kinda busy trying not to get squashed here!"

She rolled to move out of the way of a slamming fist and then crouched on her heels to launch herself into the iron knock-off. The two of them go plummeting through the opposite wall, sending plaster and debris everywhere.

"You're not doing a very good job maintaining the structure of the building," J.A.R.V.I.S. chastised.

The giant smacked her across the face and gave her a gut wrenching punch which sent her flying.

"Tonya, you have to be careful. Your vi-"

"Shut up!" she screamed at the A.I. in her head.

Tonya picked herself up and hurled a steel beam that had come apart from one of the building's columns at the giant. It ducks and the beam nearly takes the head off of the Three Rings' leader who was standing about a hundred yards away. The man's terror brings a smile to Tonya's face.

The smile doesn't last long because she has a colossal mechanical pain in the butt to deal with.

"Alright, jerkwad. Dancing time is over."

And with that Tonya activated the repulser beams in her palms again, shooting consecutive shots into her opponent's armor, knocking it to the ground. She didn't waste any more time and quickly launched herself on top of the fallen giant. She shoved her armored hands through the joints of the armor, took handfuls of wire and ripped them out, immobilizing the upper limbs of the giant. She then did the same to the joints of the lower limbs. Convinced she had paralyzed the suit, she pried open the helmet, revealing a terrified man inside.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" he pleaded.

Tonya scoffed. "As if. I'll let the cops deal with you. I got bigger fish to fry."

She then turned towards the direction of where the Three Rings' leader had last been seen, only to find him nowhere in sight. Sirens rang from the outside. A quick x-ray with her helmet showed that a majority of the party goers had already vacated the building and the ones that haven't are already near the exits. She spots Rhodey and even Obelia through the x-ray vision, but nowhere to be found was the man who caused this entire mess.

"Dammit!"

The police was starting to make their way into the building, rounding up the straggling Ten Rings members as they encircled the premises.

"Attention all individuals inside the building," a male voice rang through a megaphone. "We have the premises surrounded. Disable all weapons, put your hands up, and get down to the ground now! Any suspicious movements and we will fire!"

Tonya inwardly groaned and considered her chances of flying away only to hear helicopters overhead. They really did have the building surrounded. She would be impressed by their speediness if it wasn't such a nuisance to her.

With a sigh she realized there was only one course of action. Before the law enforcements could make their way into the building she was going to have to make a run for it. And so, run she did. She blew a hole through the wall, cutting a direct path towards the ladies' room where she stashed her dress and sprinted. Behind her she can hear the yelling of various officers and military personnel. She strategically placed various obstacles in their path.

She almost made it when she nearly runs head first into none other than Pepper Potts.

"Wait! Don't shoot!"

Her hand had been raised, repulsers aimed, thinking that he was some sort of threat. When she recognized him she let her hand drop. And in letting her hand drop, suddenly all of the battle's weariness got to her and she found herself dropping down to one knee.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she rasped.

He looked concerned, but was wary enough to not approach her.

"I'm looking for my boss. She wasn't amongst the people that got evacuated."

He came back for _her_. The thought was so amusing Tonya laughed, only to stop short when a piercing pain shot through her ribs. And once she noticed that pain, the rest came to her. Her arm was stiff; she couldn't seem to move it properly without gasping. And her vision was still blurry, although that could be a result of the helmet's digitalized screen malfunctioning. As the continued beeps and flashing warning lights added to the migraine she was having, she made the executive decision to take off the helmet. It was making her dizzy anyways.

"Helmet, off."

With the simple voice command the metal plates that made up the suit's helmet retracted, exposing her face to fresh air.

Pepper gasped as the armor fell away.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

She tried to smile, but ends up wincing instead. She managed to move her arm, it was sprained not broken, to press the button on her wrist to collapse the armor. Pepper watched in awe as the armor unfolded itself and retracts back into the robotic gauntlet.

"Oh my god," he breathed.

"I was hoping that would be your reaction when you finally see me naked," Tonya teased, only to ruin the moment by coughing uncontrollably.

When she moved her hand away from her mouth she found blood staining her palm. Her broken rib must have punctured a lung, she thought idly. She would have to increase the portable suit's steel density. But increasing the steel density would mean a heavier armor and that would totally defeat the whole purpose of a portable suit to begin with. She's going to have to hash out the details with J.A.R.V.I.S. later. At the moment she had a very shell-shocked Pepper to deal with.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but first," she paused to take a painful breath. "H-Help me get out of here," she rasped.

He was quickly by her side. She recalled arms wrapping itself around her waist and her arms circling loosely around his shoulder before blackness took her.

xxx

In the backseat of a darkened car Obelia tried to brush her hair back in some semblance of order. Her nerves were shot from the evening's events. It had not at all go according to her plans. Just as she snapped her mirror shut, her makeup and hair now perfectly rearranged, the car door opens and a shrouded figure enters the vehicle.

"What the hell kind of operation are you running?" Obelia barked at the stranger. "What was that back there? Are you insane?"

The figure pulls back the head scarf that was obscuring his features and smiles.

"You said you wanted to test run the suit."

"Not through a terrorist attack at the Met where I was attending an event, you imbecile!"

"How else would you be able to witness the test run?"

"You mean the test failure? Iron Woman could have decapitated you and the suit was nearly _destroyed_."

"All part of the-"

Obelia held a hand up, silencing her companion.

"Enough! I don't need hear any more of your excuses. Two very good thing came out of this entire mess. It's now clearer than ever to me that the secret behind the Iron Woman suit lies in the arc reactor technology. I've also realized that I no longer have a use for you."

The man's face screwed up into frown as Obelia turned away from him and proceeded to put what looked like earphones into her ears. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? If you think- Hey! Are you listening to m-"

His words are cut short when he was suddenly paralyzed with piercing pain. A high pitched hum filled the room and he noticed through stinging, bulging eyes that Obelia held a small device in her hands and a wicked smile on her face.

"Like I said. You've overstayed your use. Twice now I've hired you to eliminate Tonya Stark, but instead you come to me yet again empty handed."

Obelia watched with eerie calm as the man besides choked and attempted to scream only to find that his tongue was as paralyzed as the rest of his body. Throbbing veins lined his forehead and his eyes leaked bloody tears.

"Well, it's my fault really," she sighed with cold detachment. "I should've known that if you want anything done right... you got to do it yourself."

The man spluttered one last time before falling to the ground unmoving.


	3. Chapter 3 The Girl Without the Armor

Title:Turned to Steel  
Author:fadingtales  
Fandom:Iron Man & Vampire Diaries**  
**Ship:Caroline/Stefan as Tonya Stark/Virgil "Pepper" Potts  
Rating:T  
Summary:An Iron Man/Vampire Diaries Genderswap AU Fic featuring Caroline Fobres as Tonya Stark and Stefan Salvatore as Virgil "Pepper" Potts. Accompanied by Bonnie Bennett as Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, and Isobel Fleming as Obelia Stane.

A/N:Apologies for the long delay. HERE IS THE THIRD INSTALLMENT! I didn't realize people actually would want more of this because well… you've all seen the movie right? =P I do borrow some lines from the movie because they are just so well done, but I've added my own steroline spin on things. I hope you like it and yes there will be ONE more final chapter coming up. Please bare with me. I will try and finish it before the year's end I promise (and yes, I know it's only March.) Much love!

PART THREE – The Girl Without the Armor

After the Fireman's Ball fiasco Tonya goes missing for two days. When Pepper found her gone it felt like the day he was told Humvee had been ambushed all over again. All he had to go on is a simple voice message she left with J.A.R.V.I.S. telling him to not worry and that she'd be back on Tuesday.

She's clever and she's resourceful. She is also probably better equipped than he is, in all honesty, for disasters and apocalyptic emergencies, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

Monday night rolled around and he couldn't sleep a wink. He had spent the entire day fighting off reporters clamoring about Iron Woman. Somebody had taken note that Tonya's sudden absence coincided with Iron Woman's miraculous appearance at the ball. Along with the fact that Iron Woman did not emerge until after Tonya's homecoming and subsequent world peace declaration, the press attempted to put two and two together. They were eager to piece together a heroic story that could sell.

The evidence was sketchy at best, despite being right on the dot, but the media outlets had a field day with it nonetheless. Obelia seemed oddly unconcerned about Tonya's disappearance and merely told him to trust her. That goes without saying. Pepper _did_trust Tonya. He trusted that she can get herself in a whole world of trouble.

He finds her in her workshop the next morning, going about things as usual. Save for the scratch and bruises that he had helped clean and bandage, and maybe a few new ones, she looked like the same old Tonya.

"Oh, you're here. I wasn't expecting you yet. Thought you'd have stuff to do at HQ."

"You were gone for two days."

She shrugged nonchalantly in respond. A smile that doesn't reach her eyes played on her lips. He noticed dark circles underneath her eyes. Looking more carefully, underneath the carefree façade, she looked battered, exhausted.

"I'm as right as rain," she sing-songed before turning her attention away from him and back on whatever the hell she's working on.

When she reached for the soldering torch his hand caught hers in midair.

"Will you talk to me? Please?"

She ignored how warm he felt, how delicate the sensation of his skin against hers, even in such a chaste gesture. It is with reluctance that she pulled her hand out of his grasp.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Nothing to talk about," he repeated, his tone cold.

"Yep!" she chirped cheerily.

"What about those bullet holes?"

She flinched and looked up at him. From a casual observer, his face looked composed and calm, like still water without a single ripple, but with Tonya's expert eyes she could see that his eyes blazed with accusations.

"What bullet holes?" she lied blatantly.

And with that lie that mask of calm of his crumbled.

"Dammit, Tonya," he hissed under his breath. He paced the room, running his hand through his perfectly combed hair. She rather liked him with his hair mussed. She cocked her head to the side to study him better. Yes, she liked it. It made him look more boyish, youthful. Of course she didn't dare tell him that now when he was so upset with her.

Pepper caught her looking and scowled at her.

"I was careful," she said in a placating voice. "I've upgraded the suit-"

"Yeah, the suit is completely invincible," he drawled. "Is that why I intercepted Dummy earlier trying to dispose of bloody bullets and shrapnel?"

"I don't know what Dummy is up to. Maybe he's growing aggressive. Going all 'Skynet' on me." She used air quotes for emphasis. "You know, now that you mention it I had a suspicion that he has been up to no-"

"And your bloody t-shirt with all the holes in them that I found in the trash?"

She curses herself mentally. She should've just incinerated the evidence the moment she got back. But she was sloppy… and also suffering from a mild concussion and major sleep deprivation.

She hadn't been lying. The suit had been upgraded so that it would be better insulated against bullets. She just didn't upgrade it to withstand bazookas shot point blank. Worse yet, it was one of her _own_. She had thought the Mark I knock-off from the Fireman's Ball had been a fluke. But it has now become clear to her that somebody has been stealing her designs and using them for their own agenda.

It's with great alarm that she must now accept the fact that there is a mole within company. The Mark I is only the tip of the iceberg. If, god forbid, the wrong people got their hands on the more sophisticated designs there would be hell to pay. She was slowly uncovering a deep conspiracy that went beyond mere terrorist attacks and she had the dark suspicion that the entity behind it all is the same person who had orchestrated her capture. Unfortunately, at this point all she had was mad theories, speculation and circumstantial evidence without a real leg to stand on.

"There are still some kinks to work out," she said in a bubbly voice, flashing Pepper a big smile. "But I've just figured out this cool new way to-"

She stopped mid-sentence, Pepper had his face buried in his hands. When he lifted them from his face, Tonya flinched. She's never seen Pepper look as tired and dejected as he did at this moment.

"This is all just a joke to you isn't it? This... playing at this superhero business. Running around and trying to get yourself killed in the name of some deranged idea of justice. You don't even understand how this affects everyone around you. How it affects the company and the people who depend on you and… and I can't do this."

Pepper shook his head, lowering his gaze so that he wasn't looking her in the eye anymore.

"I... I just can't."

"You can't do _what_?"

Tonya's voice came out sharper than she intended, but at this moment she felt defensive. More than defensive, she felt hurt that Pepper, who understood her like no one else did, would want to abandon ship now when she needed him the most.

"I'm not playing a game here, Pepper! Do you get it? I'm… I'm trying to do the right thing."

Pepper opened his mouth to retort, but she beat him to the punch.

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. Now that I'm trying to protect the people I've put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tonya. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I shouldn't even be _alive_... unless it was for a reason."

Images of Yinsen, of the children and the people living in ravaged villages, of the dead piled high to the sky, and the weapons, _her_weapons, the cause of it. All the destruction she had been a part of, whether she did it knowingly or not, it tore at her insides.

She clenched her fist, nails marking crescent moons into her palms, and stared back up to Pepper resolutely.

"I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

Pepper looked at her for a long moment, as if suddenly seeing her in a new light. He opened his mouth several times as if to say something, but no words came out. Finally he said, "You really are serious about all this aren't you?"

"As serious as-"

"A heart attack," Pepper finished for her.

"Right," she said smiling.

The smile doesn't last long before the weight of everything burdens itself on her shoulders once more. Her brows furrows and she takes a step closer to where Pepper stood, her hands outreached, but not quite touching his.

"There's something wrong here, Pepper. And don't tell me you don't feel it too. You're too smart to have not noticed. Stark Industries inventory is being compromised. Our _security_is compromised and innocent people are getting hurt. I can't have that. I've spent too long living in apathy, doing nothing. So if it means that I might have to put myself in the front lines to right the wrongs I've contributed to, then so be it. I get it if you don't feel the same, but after all this time together…I... I'd like to know that you have my back."

Silence fell between them and in the spaces between their muted breaths Tonya braced herself for his possible rejection. He didn't bare any responsibility to this, after all. So what if she needed him? He didn't owe her or anybody anything. In fact he should walk away. Walk far, far away from this madness and not look back. But god, she didn't think she could do any of this one her own if he did.

Before the dark thoughts could fully consume her, Pepper spoke.

"Okay."

Tonya blinked at him.

"_Okay_?" she asked skeptically.

"Okay, I have your back," he clarified with a heavy sigh.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed the discrepancies he's found in the company's files. That he, too, has had a nagging suspicion that something rather nefarious was underhand. He had pushed it away, chalked it up as stress born paranoia, and rationalized it as a few misplaced files, a few blips in the system, but he realizes that he can't ignore it anymore. It would be irresponsible to do so just because he didn't like the implications that somebody close to them might be betraying their secrets. To deny what was glaringly obvious would to be an accomplice and to be putting Tonya in danger and he refuses to be a part of anything that would cause Tonya harm.

"I'm going back to headquarters to look into some stuff," Pepper announced. "I'll be back to check up on you later today to prep you for tomorrow. We'll talk more then."

Tonya nodded and smiled.

"Okay."

He has one foot on the bottom stair when he stopped and turned to look at her a final time.

"Hey, Tonya?

She looked up at him curiously, looking very much like a young girl and not a billionaire genius superhero. It made him smile. _Yes_, he thinks, _I'm doing the right thing_. He might not have superpowers or high-tech gadgets, but god dammit he was going to protect this girl.

"You're all I have, too."

She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing without a sound. All of her witty retorts have dried up upon her tongue. She felt lightheaded, dazed, and a little dizzy.

_You're all I have, too. _Something about having her words thrown back at her felt significantly like a confession. Her heart pounded. If only he meant them a fragment of how much she had meant them.

Pepper threw her one last brief smile, amplifying her rapid pulse, before he continued mounting the stairs. The bleep of the electronic sliding door signified his exit.

Even in his absence, it took Tonya a full ten minutes to recover. And another five minutes for her to notice the neatly wrapped package set besides her computer.

_Her birthday_. A small smile lit her face. Despite all the apprehension surrounding her big Two-Oh, in the past few days she had nearly forgotten about it. The party and official press conference won't take place until tomorrow, but tonight at exactly 11:52 pm she will be the new sole proprietor of Stark Industries.

She walked over to the desk and snatched up the box. She admired the tasteful wrapping for a moment, turning it about in her hands. Then like a child on Christmas Eve, she shook it, trying to guess from the rattling sounds inside as to what it could be.

A simple card was attached to the box's side and she opened it to read: _Happy Birthday. From Pepper._

She untied the ribbon and took the lid off the box. Nestled inside, cushioned by colorful tissue paper, was her old arc reactor, the one she had told Pepper to throw away, encased in glass. The words "PROOF THAT TONYA STARK HAS A HEART" was engraved along the edge.

She had said she was not nostalgic, but somehow seeing the old reactor again brought stinging tears to her eyes. Once again, thoughts of Yinsen and the faces of the soldiers in that ill-fated Humvee floated to the surface of her mind. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and set the gift down, picking up her wrench and torch in its stead. Snapping on her soldering mask, she got back to work. For too long ghosts have been haunting her ever since she came home and it's about time she avenged them.

xxx

Pepper wove expertly through Stark HQ, making his way up to the executive levels. He flashed a smile to Dan the Security Guy before swiping his ID through and stepping forward to the eye scanner. Once the scan was completed he placed his thumb on the pad below where a small needle pricked him and confirmed his blood sample. Once the blood was verified, an automated female voice asked him for his name.

"Virgil Potts," he enunciated carefully.

After a couple of seconds the light at the door knob blinked and the female voice welcomed him in.

Pepper turned the knob and walked through, letting the heavy door close and lock behind him, sealing out any outside noise.

With security like this Pepper shuddered to think of who would be capable of breaching it in order to steal confidential Stark tech. _Or perhaps the person already had access to begin with,_his dark thoughts told him.

As much as Pepper wanted to shake that thought away, he knew he couldn't. It's the reason why he was at the executive suites to begin with. There were only a small handful of higher ups that were allowed access up here. All of which have been longtime associates and friends of Tonya's mother and father. They were the men and women who looked over the company, looked over Tonya, for over the past decade since the late Mr. and Mrs. Stark passed away. Obelia, herself, was amongst one of them. But Pepper wasn't naive. Regimes were changing and when it does, people will show their true colors. Nonetheless, he felt the criminal for suspecting Obelia and the others for treachery.

With determination Pepper marched towards the center office and sat down at the desk, Obelia's desk, and switched on the computer. He had borrowed Tonya's hacker device, one of the toys she created back in college to hack into the school database and steal cute boys' numbers and emails, and with trembling fingers activated it.

"_Please don't find anything_," he whispered to himself, his heart hammering in his chest.

The screen lit up.

Dozens of hidden files appeared, like seashells being uncovered by the tide. Schematics, data, and design blueprints of the arc reactor, ones Pepper recognized from Tonya's workshop. Ones Tonya had given to Pepper to deliver, but he hadn't had the chance to yet.

His stomach dropped. His worst suspicions were coming true.

"What have you _done_, Obelia?"

And as if in answer to his desperate question, a video popped up on the screen. It was a recording of an old video chat. Pepper recognized the man on the screen to be the leader of the Five Rings, the gang that caused all that destruction at the Fireman's Ball. The blurry figure in the video confirmed his involvement in Tonya's kidnapping amongst other heinous activities. The video would be more than enough for a conviction in any court.

As the conversation played itself out before him, Pepper felt his blood run cold. And then it went colder. Obelia's voice filled the speakers. It was her awfully familiar voice that laid out the groundwork for Tonya's assassination.

"Oh my god..." Pepper breathed.

A beep of the door at the opposite end of the room made him jump. He quickly recovered and pressed Ctrl C to copy all files onto the USB drive he had brought with him. The progress bar showed 10%. Then 15%. 25%. 30%.

"Come on, come on," he urged.

The door was opening now and he could recognize the telltale clicks of Obelia's heels.

With a smooth fluid motion, he switched the screen's display to a screensaver and subtly moved a newspaper on top of the USB stick, obscuring it from view just as Obelia walked into sight.

"Pepper!" Obelia exclaimed.

He put on his most confident, genuine grin.

"I'm surprised you're here. I heard that Tonya was back and I had imagined she would have you all day."

Obelia's familiar, pleasant tone made him sick to his stomach.

"She kicked me out," Pepper replied smoothly. "So I thought I'd come into the office to finish up some work. Sorry about borrowing your computer. Mine was acting up and IT was working on it, buy I wanted to read some reports before Tonya's big press conference."

Obelia smiled at him and shook her head. "She's lucky to have you, you know. You're always looking out for her."

"As are you," Pepper said. He struggled to not let bitterness leak into his tone.

Obelia's smile widened. "Yes. As do I."

Pepper fought against the storm inside his stomach and smiled back.

"Well, now that you're here, I'll get out of your hair." He slipped his hand underneath the newspaper and retrieved the USB drive. With a sleight of hand he learned from amateur magic tricks in college, he slipped it into his sleeve and stood up from his seat. "I'm sure there's a computer elsewhere I could be using."

"Yes, I do have some important things to catch up on myself."

He smoothly slipped out from behind Obelia's desk and tucked his hands in his pocket, heading towards the door.

His hand was on the door knob when Obelia called out to him.

"Oh, and Pepper?"

He struggled not to flinch when turned to look back at Obelia over his shoulder.

"Let's meet later on today to go over that conference, alright?"

"Of course," Pepper replied affably.

And then he was out.

Mere minutes after the door locked shut behind Pepper, Obelia woke her computer up to find the screen flashing "100% Download Completed" up at her.

xxx

Tonya was taking a break from her workshop when her phone vibrated and Justin Timberlake's _SexyBack_came on. She smiled, recognizing it as the new ringtone she had set up for Pepper. Tearing herself away from the bowl of Corn Pops cereal that was serving as her dinner, she sauntered over to where her phone laid on the coffee table and picked it up.

"Hey, I-"

Instead of Pepper's voice on the line, a high pitched frequency hummed into her ear. She found her tongue had turned into lead and a second later found that her _entire_body was frozen. Panic is about to set in when a soft shushing sound mingled with the electronic humming that was paralyzing her entire body.

"There, there. Steady now, _breathe_."

Obelia was carefully taking her phone out of her hand and pushing her back into the cushions of the couch where she sat.

The earplugs in the older woman's ears don't escape Tonya's notice as she stared wide eyed at her long time mentor and guardian.

"You remember this don't you?" Obelia held up the small black device in her hand.

The question had been rhetorical. Tonya would recognize her own handiwork anywhere.

Obelia grinned at her, the expression lacking any sort of warmth. "Such potential this project had. Alas, some people thought it would be too dangerous to have a device that could cause full body paralysis. What if it got into the wrong hands, they said. Ah… well…"

Obelia set the device down and sat herself across from Tonya. Tonya tried to open her mouth, but only gasping sounds came out.

"No, no. Don't try and talk. It won't do you any good," Obelia tsked. She crossed her legs and sighed before turning her attentions back to Tonya once more. "It could've been so much simpler you know? Tomorrow evening after your big birthday bash you were supposed to have a little car accident. It would've been tragic, but understandable. Party girl, Tonya Stark, had just too much to drink and the roads up Malibu cliffs can be oh so treacherous. We would all mourn the great visionary you could have been, but given your track record no one would have suspected a thing. The whole post traumatic stress thing could've been a factor as well. People would have speculated that you couldn't handle the weight of the entire Stark Empire on your shoulders. And let's face it... they would probably be right."

Obelia leaned in then, her face mere centimeters away from Tonya's.

"Do you even realize the agony of having your life's work handed over to some snot-nosed brat?" Obelia snarled into her ear. "It was bad enough that your mother was always the one to get the credit, the one whose name got plastered in the papers and on the company building. She was indeed a visionary, but if it wasn't for me your mother would have still been tinkering in that basement lab at MIT. _I_ made the company what it is and I'm not going to let your little girl scout morals destroy everything I've worked so hard to build."

As the venom of Obelia's words sunk in, everything began to click together in Tonya's head. Obelia's last minute schedule conflict that put Tonya in that fateful Humvee, the pressure to hand over the data for arc reactor, and most importantly the insistence that Obelia play liaison with the shareholders rather than let Tonya speak to them herself, keeping her isolated from all the important figures in the company. As all of Obelia's treachery came to light, the most horrible thought occurred to her. _Was Pepper in on it?_

As if reading his mind, Obelia said, "It's a pity you brought Pepper into this. I was hoping to spare him. His talents had always been wasted on you." Obelia straightened up, brushing her hands down the length of her dress to smooth out the creases. "It will be difficult to find his replacement."

Tonya's eyes widened like teacup saucers, the words having the effect of acid on her skin. _No, no, no! Not Pepper. _Tonya tries her best to get up, to move, to thrash about and knock down the woman that she had always known to be a second mother figure. Alas, at this point even her body has betrayed her.

"This really wasn't the way I wanted thing to go… you know I've always said the devil is in the details," Obelia sighed. "But the show must go on."

Standing up, she gave Tonya one last smile.

"Good-bye, Tonya."

And as Obelia walked away, Tonya could feel her life draining out.


End file.
